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Lebanese entrepreneur Ayah Bdeir will now be
able to bring snap-together electronics toys littleBits to a wider
audience, thanks to a new round of $3.65 million in Series A
funding from U.S. venture capital firms.

In her
TED talk this March, Bdeir, who also co-founded
Beirut workspace Karaj, explained the simplicity of
the little color-coded pieces that teach children how to build and
augment electronic circuits that connect via magnetic ends.
“Instead of having to program, to wire, to solder, little bits
allows you to program using very simple, intuitive gestures.”

She demonstrates how the pieces are as easy to use as Legos,
and allow children (or adults) to make increasingly complex
and fun circuits including lights, switches, sounds, motors,
and, eventually, solar panels. “[Children] start to understand the
electronics around them from everyday that they don’t learn at
schools,” she describes. “For example, how a nightlight works, why
an elevator door stays open, or how an iPod responds to touch.”

It turns out that the market is hungry for a simple electronics
education. When Bdeir first put the pieces on the market last
December, she sold 2,000 products in two weeks, and received
interested from major toy companies, Business Insider says.
Now, she’s looking to use this round of funding to scale and start
selling littleBits via supply chain provider PCH. Hopefully the
pieces will eventually be sold in Lebanon and the MENA region as
well.